Rhythm & Forever
by FallAway
Summary: AU. Oneshot future fic, total fluff. Rhythm. A slow, steady beat encompassing all of the outside forces. Forever starts now. Lit


Rhythm. A slow, steady beat encompassing all of the outside forces. Minimal sound is able to peek through except for the mellow droning of the bass drum, constantly keeping the pace and moving the room in a melodic dance. Bodies swayed together in the midst of the sound, flowing in and around each other as the melody continued, providing a sort of background noise to their thoughts … their breathing … their heartbeats.

She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, burying her head in the crook of his neck. She felt his heart pounding against her own, in perfect chorus with the bass drum, the words of the song lost long ago. He kept his arms wrapped firmly around her waist, molding their bodies together as they danced.

After a moment she looked up at him, running a hand through his hair. Their eyes met and she drew in a shaky breath. A soft smile played at his lips and he dipped his had to capture her lips with his in a gentle kiss.

When they parted she found herself grinning like an idiot, blushing despite herself.

"All these years and you can still make me blush," she whispered quietly. He rested his forehead against hers and smirked.

"It's a gift," he returned. She rolled her eyes playfully and tried to suppress the smile that was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

They continued to move in silence, the only sounds being their synchronized breathing and the ever-steady beat of the bass drum. She moved her head to his shoulder, and he, in turn, let a hand drift into her hair while he placed a gentle kiss on her head. He closed his eyes for a moment, the smell of vanilla and strawberry filling his senses and bringing the butterflies in his stomach to life again.

It had been four years now, and it had been rough at the beginning. He had toyed with her heart, leaving only to return again and confuse her even more. Eventually she convinced him to stay, and he gave in because he knew that there was no greater woman for him than she.

She graduated from Yale and they moved in together, both getting respectable jobs in New York. He, although known for his monosyllabic tendencies, had found work as a columnist for Rolling Stone after getting his high school degree and she had fallen into her comfortable position at the Times.

She questioned him, he knew that, but once he had convinced her he wasn't going anywhere they had fallen all over again, each day bringing a new surprise. Flowers on her desk when she arrived at work in the morning, a new book on his pillow when he went to bed. This was how they were, subtle romantic gestures exchanged every now and again, the occasional fight that had no purpose whatsoever. And then something happened that she hadn't exactly been expecting.

_She fumbled with her keys for a few moments as she attempted to balance her purse and her umbrella in her arms. Finally she got the door open and she dropped everything on the floor in the entryway, glad to get them out of her hands._

_She pushed her hair behind her ears and looked up to see the living room dark. _That's odd,_ she thought to herself._

"_Jess? Are you home?" she called as she slipped out of her shoes and went through a door into their kitchen._

_She stopped._

_The entire room was covered in candles, letting off a beautiful glow and she gasped quietly. She stepped further into the room and noticed the table set for two, her favorite dish placed carefully on the plates, rose petals lightly accentuating the table cloth._

_She continued to look around through glassy eyes when she felt arms encircling her waist._

"_How was your day?" he whispered, dropping a kiss on her shoulder. Rory smiled to herself and swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill._

"_It was ok," she returned, turning her head slightly. He kissed her cheek affectionately._

"_Just ok?"_

"_Well it just got a whole lot better," she smiled, resting her hands on top of his. "What's the occasion?" He smirked._

"_I just felt like we needed a romantic night in." She nodded._

"_Thank you," she whispered gratefully. He nodded before turning her in his arms and kissing her gently. He pulled out a chair for her and they sat, filling their meal with easy conversation._

"_That was amazing," she smiled as she wiped her mouth, placing her napkin neatly next to her clean plate._

"_I'm glad," he smirked. She watched him for a moment, noticing for the first time all night that his hands were shaking. It was subtle but it was there._

"_Are you ok, Jess?" she asked concernedly. He nodded. She narrowed her eyes. "Liar."_

_He looked over at her and noticed a strand of hair that was falling in her eyes. He gently reached over to her and tucked it behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek for a moment. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes and swallowing the small lump that had formed in her throat without her knowledge. This was a good thing, whatever it was that was making him shake._

"_We've been together almost four years," he said softly. She nodded. _

"_More than that if you include high school," she teased. He smiled slightly._

"_We've been through a lot," he said, becoming serious again. She nodded again, holding his gaze while their hands found each other under the table, fingers intertwining._

"_And since we have been together so long, and since we've been through so much, I was hoping you would do me a favor." She raised an eyebrow._

"_I won't run away to England with you," she deadpanned. He couldn't help but laugh at this. She giggled before smiling warmly at him. "I'm sorry, continue." He nodded his thanks._

"_I love you."_

"_I love you too," she whispered, not understanding where this was leading._

_He gently let go of her hand and fed her a piece of his cake, a dessert she had happily agreed to eat. She looked at him curiously but took the bite, stopping when she bit down on something hard._

"_I think your cooking skills are starting to go ba-" she stopped when she looked at the object she had pulled out of her mouth. She looked up at him, wide-eyed._

_Jess got down on one knee and gently took the ring from her, lightly wiping the chocolate frosting off of it before holding her hand._

"_Will you marry me?" he asked, staring into her eyes. They filled with tears as she nodded vehemently, without hesitation._

"_Yes," she breathed. He placed the ring on her finger and stood up, bringing her with him as they kissed. _

"_I love you," she whispered thickly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. He pushed her hands out of the way and kissed her tears away, sending shivers down her spine._

"_I love you too."_

The slow melody of the song ended and they reluctantly pulled apart, only just barely. His hand found hers and he looked at the simple white gold band that decorated her finger delicately.

"You realize I own you now, right?" Rory teased, biting her bottom lip. He smiled.

"You realize I can say the same thing, right?" Jess countered. She giggled softly. He played with her ring for another moment before intertwining their fingers and bringing their lips together for a soft kiss.

"Forever," he whispered. She nodded.

"Forever."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I don't know exactly where this came from but I thought it would make a cute story, I hope you enjoyed! I eat reviews for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so feel free to drop one! Thanks.


End file.
